The Black Echo: Harry Bosch Series, Book 1

For LAPD homicide cop Harry Bosch - hero, maverick, nighthawk - the body in the drainpipe at Mulholland Dam is more than another anonymous statistic. This one is personal. The dead man, Billy Meadows, was a fellow Vietnam "tunnel rat" who fought side by side with him in a nightmare underground war that brought them to the depths of hell.

The Wrong Side of Goodbye: A Harry Bosch Novel, Book 21

Harry Bosch is California's newest private investigator. He doesn't advertise, he doesn't have an office, and he's picky about who he works for, but it doesn't matter. His chops from 30 years with the LAPD speak for themselves. Soon one of Southern California's biggest moguls comes calling. The reclusive billionaire has less than six months to live and a lifetime of regrets. He hires Bosch to find out whether he has an heir.

The Whistler

Lacy Stoltz is an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. She is a lawyer, not a cop, and it is her job to respond to complaints dealing with judicial misconduct. After nine years with the board, she knows that most problems are caused by incompetence, not corruption. But a corruption case eventually crosses her desk. A previously disbarred lawyer is back in business with a new identity. He now goes by the name Greg Myers, and he claims to know of a Florida judge who has stolen more money than all other crooked judges combined.

Night School: A Jack Reacher Novel, Book 21

It's 1996, and Reacher is still in the army. In the morning they give him a medal, and in the afternoon they send him back to school. That night he's off the grid. Out of sight, out of mind. Two other men are in the classroom - an FBI agent and a CIA analyst. Each is a first-rate operator, each is fresh off a big win, and each is wondering what the hell they are doing there. Then they find out: A jihadist sleeper cell in Hamburg, Germany, has received an unexpected visitor - a Saudi courier seeking safe haven while waiting to rendezvous with persons unknown.

Blood Work

Thanks to a heart transplant, former FBI agent Terrell McCaleb is enjoying a quiet retirement, renovating the fishing boat he lives on in Los Angeles Harbor. But McCaleb's calm seas turn choppy when a story in the "What Happened To?" column of the LA Times brings him face-to-face with the sister of the woman whose heart now beats in his chest.

No Man's Land: John Puller Series

John Puller's mother disappeared nearly 30 years ago. Despite an intensive search and investigation, she was never seen again. But new allegations have come to light suggesting that Puller's father - now suffering from dementia and living in a VA hospital - may have murdered his wife. Puller is officially barred from working on the case and faces a potential court-martial if he disobeys the order, but he knows he can't sit this investigation out.

The Poet

Our hero is Jack McEvoy, a Rocky Mountain News crime-beat reporter. As the story opens, Jack's twin brother, a Denver homicide detective, has just killed himself. Or so it seems. But when Jack begins to investigate the phenomenon of police suicides, a disturbing pattern emerges, and soon suspects that a serial murderer is at work.

Escape Clause: A Virgil Flowers Novel, Book 9

The first storm comes from, of all places, the Minnesota zoo. Two large and very rare Amur tigers have vanished from their cage, and authorities are worried sick that they've been stolen for their body parts. Traditional Chinese medicine prizes those parts for home remedies, and people will do extreme things to get what they need. Some of them are a great deal more extreme than others - as Virgil is about to find out.

American Assassin

Before he was considered a CIA superagent, before he was thought of as a terrorists worst nightmare, and before he was both loathed and admired by the politicians on Capitol Hill, Mitch Rapp was a gifted college athlete without a care in the world . . . and then tragedy struck.

Home: Myron Bolitar Series, Book 11

A decade ago, kidnappers grabbed two boys from wealthy families and demanded ransom, then went silent. No trace of the boys ever surfaced. For 10 years their families have been left with nothing but painful memories and a quiet desperation for the day that has finally, miraculously arrived: Myron Bolitar and his friend Win believe they have located one of the boys, now a teenager. Where has he been for 10 years, and what does he know about the day, more than half a life ago, when he was taken?

Ricki says:"I have so missed Myron and Win and now they are back. Yeah"

Cross the Line: Alex Cross, Book 24

Shots ring out in the early morning hours in the suburbs of Washington, DC. When the smoke clears, a prominent police official lies dead, leaving the city's police force scrambling for answers. Under pressure from the mayor, Alex Cross steps into the leadership vacuum to crack the case. But before Cross can make any headway, a brutal crime wave sweeps across the region. The deadly scenes share only one common thread: The victims are all criminals.

Chaos: A Scarpetta Novel

In the quiet of twilight, on an early autumn day, 26-year-old Elisa Vandersteel is killed while riding her bicycle along the Charles River. It appears she was struck by lightning - except the weather is perfectly clear, with not a cloud in sight. Dr. Kay Scarpetta, the Cambridge Forensic Center's director and chief, decides at the scene that this is no accidental act of God. Her investigation becomes complicated when she begins receiving a flurry of bizarre poems from an anonymous cyberbully who calls himself Tailend Charlie.

Publisher's Summary

Narcotics officer Cal Moore's orders were to look into the city's latest drug killing. Instead, he ends up in a motel room with his head in several pieces and a suicide note stuffed in his back pocket.

Years ago, Harry Bosch learned the first rule of the good cop: don't look for the facts, but the glue that holds them together. Now, Harry's making some very dangerous connections, starting with one dead cop and leading to a bloody string of murders that winds from Hollywood Boulevard's drug bazaar to the dusty back alleys south of the border and into the center of a complex and lethal game - one in which Harry is the next and likeliest victim.

This is book 2 in the series. I have read some of the later books and am now going back and reading the early books. This shows a typical Bosch unable to follow orders, he is told the case of the dead cop was not his but he investigates anyway. Was interesting the information of the Med-fly and the release of the sterile flies. Guess this was just after the straying. I lived thorough all this but had forgotten about it. Nice thing about books that include items and current events in the story writing, because eventually the story becomes a brief history lesson. This book also introduces Harry to his father. Dick Hill does a great job narrating the story.

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What made the experience of listening to The Black Ice: Harry Bosch Series, Book 2 the most enjoyable?

Two things need to come together to make a great audio book - A great story and a great narrator. I'd say this audiobook has it both.

The story here, though not perfect, is very entertaining and even teaches you a thing or two. Dick Hill is really great narrator and out of all the books I've heard to date he is my absolute favorite. In fact, I'm going to get some of his other books just to enjoy his performance.

I've read and/or listened to all of Connely's work. Until the recent influx of Northern European authors, he was easily my favorite novelist. It dawned on me that I could not remember all of the earlier Bosch novels so I picked up Black Ice through the Whisper Sync phenomenon that allows you to purchase the audible version so cheaply.

Black Ice is essential to the Bosch series because it is truly a great procedural on its on. In the first chapter Connelly introduces his hero as the hard nosed outsider on the detective squad who never lets politics or personal gain interfere with his work.

When the author came to Greensboro to promote The Overlook, (that mystery begins in Greensboro), he was asked about Harry's love for jazz. Connelly explained that when writing, jazz instrumentals are not the distraction that blues and rock, his first loves, are. In Black Ice we are introduced to Harry's love for the saxophone in particular. So I found the Coleman Hawkins & Ben Webster channel on Pandora. It's been remarkable background music while listening and working!

Dick Hill is a huge improvement over Len Cariou, who is the narrator in some of the later books.

As for the story itself, it's a great mystery with a great twist I never saw coming.Highly recommended!

I enjoy winding down at bedtime with a M. Connelly listen... I enjoyed this one, but not as much as some of the others. The climax was a little too deus ex machina for my tastes. That said, I'm using my new credit on another Connelly, so I'm still a huge fan!

Disclaimer: I am a big fan of Harry Bosch serie.After introducing series on audible, I started to listen to it from the beginning. Although this book has all characteristics of the series (lonely wolf Harry, thrilling story, different environment), I found the plot where key part is internal politics less interesting.Still worth to listen, narrator is excellent.

This is the third Bosch book that I've listened to and I still have two awaiting me in my library. This story played like a chess game with Bosch and the bad guy(s) anticipating how each would react to situations and then making decisions accordingly. It's difficult for me to precisely explain exactly what made this book very "underwhelming" for me. Perhaps it was the outrageous premises that were revealed as the story progressed. Harry's character is not very upbeat and when the story slows the tedium is aggravated. I'm a fan of this genre, so even three star books hold my interest. And having Dick Hill doing the narration certainly doesn't hurt.

In the end I liked it. The story came around very nicely. But, I guess I'm not a Dick Hill fan. Sorry Dick. Your one of the greats, but there's something about the style that doesn't always work for me. Perhaps it's because he's done so many books, that his distinctive style blurs the characters for me. Not sure about that, but I'm sure I'll be listening to this duo again.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes, I thought the book started out a little slow, but then it really picked up. Once listening to the second part of the download I couldn't put it down. The author is really descriptive in the story telling, which is good, but it slows the listen down some.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I think it was a little too descriptive in some places. Also, the writer was in Harry's head a lot. Not that this was a bad thing, but sometimes I thought, - When is he finally going to get into Mexico, or - He still hasn't begun his conversation with so-and-so yet.

Which scene was your favorite?

The Castle Scene.

Do you think The Black Ice needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I don't think it NEEDS a follow-up. The ends were well tied up in this story. However, it appears that there are several other Harry Bosche books, that I plan on getting to eventually. I'm curious about the realtionship between Bosche and Haller. Also, if Bosche will ever get the respect of his captains. Although... I guess he doesnt show much respect to them either.

This book, much like Black Echo, is extremely well written and the narration is top rate... I will definately be buying the rest of the books in this series.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Mr. S. Hyams

Lancashire UK

9/30/09

Overall

"Black Ice - unseen brilliance"

Keen fan of Hammett and Chandler and I have read many Ian Rankins, but much preferred this.
Thought it was time to try another crime author and the Harry Bosch story did not disappoint. Well read firstly, good selection of "voices" which always helps. Plot was complicated and kept on moving at a pace. To me the characters were well thought out and LA had a modern but grimy feel as portrayed by Chandler and Philip Marlowe etc.

As soon as I have written this, I will download another Michael Connelly.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

steffen

newcastle upon tyne, United Kingdom

4/21/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Brilliant!"

Had dipped in and out of the Bosch books but have started at the beginning and glad I did.

Treat yourself and listen

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Amazon Customer

London, United Kingdom

4/30/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Interesting!!! a good read....`"

"Fun book"It was a light fun book.Got many giggles from some of the ridiculous situations... It's been a while since I enjoyed this much.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Sally

THEIL-RABIER, France

4/7/13

Overall

"A typically good Michael Connelly"

The problem is you get hooked on an author and just keep going back for more. It never ceases to amaze me that his plots aren't facsimiles of each other... they are all completely different. I am amazed he can remember which major character is which as he has a number of regular "heros", Michael Connelly as good as ever, thoroughly recommend this one.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Kathleen

aberdeen, aberdeenshire, United Kingdom

11/9/10

Overall

"kathleen"

Once again i enjoyed Harry Bosch. Well done Michael CONNELLY.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

chris

London, United Kingdom

6/21/10

Overall

"Entertaining, compelling and well narrated"

Another in the Harry Bosch series with the usual successful formula of a maverick ex-Nam cop and the pathos of his personal life. It's not necessary to listen to them all in order, although it helps (Black Echo is the first). The LA setting is as compelling now as it was in Chandler's day and the plot has enough twists and turns to satisfy the cynical listener without too much suspension of disbelief. The narration was particular good on this recording. Enjoy them all!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

J Rice

10/23/16

Overall

"Solid audio book"

This is a good sequel to The Black Echo and really well narrated. Not quite as good as Echo and no reference is made to the events in that story. I'll keep going with this series, it's really good.